Educational Leadership: What do we believe?

I came across an insightful article today during my daily professional development. I'd like to share a portion of it here. I underlined the parts I found most beneficial.

The full article is called What do we believe? The author is Joanne Rooney, a lifelong educator.

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I have also found that reflection on questions such as these helps distinguish essential from ordinary priorities:

• What is our work? Writing a vision statement to hang in the hall or deciphering what the superintendent wants us to do differs dramatically from discovering the passion that resides deeply in our hearts and minds. It must be about kids.
• Does our school's culture reflect this passion? Does "the way we do things around here" reflect our beliefs about kids, teaching, and caring? Learning finds a hostile home in a toxic culture.
• Have we found a context for psychometric data? Currently, test scores often substitute for learning, and the obsession with upgrading test scores defines leadership. It is outrageous that so many hold in high esteem only that which can be measured. We must keep in mind the famous words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's little prince—"That which is essential is invisible to the eye"—and articulate this truth as often as we say "test scores."
• Is our leadership embedded in relationships? Principals are effective not because of positional power, but because of the synergy that flows from positive relationships between the principal and teachers—and among the teachers themselves.
• Are "teachers as professionals" and "teacher leadership" more than buzzwords? Leaders must clearly express—and back up—the expectation that adult learning is crucial to professionalism. And as they show increased acceptance of teachers in leadership roles, principals must trust teachers' decisions, even when they diverge from the principal's preferences.
• Is the principal the head learner? We, too, must tear ourselves away from the paper, e-mail, phone calls, and meetings that jam our days to participate in meaningful professional development, lest we, too, keep relying on information learned for and in a different era.

February 2008 | Volume 65 | Number 5
Teaching Students to Think Pages 88-90 

As I read this article, I found myself nodding my head and saying out loud "I agree" more than once.